Carney the star as Sharks rout Manly in first trial

It was only a trial game, but if it is a sign of things to come, then Sharks fans will be licking their lips – with a second-half brace from half Todd Carney, setting the Sharks up for a comfortable win.

With both sides playing in their first official NRL trial game, the sides that ran onto the field consisted of mostly younger NYC players, and fringe NSW Cup players, before the NRL players made their presence felt in the second half (3rd quarter in trials).

At the half-way point, though, the score was 16-6 in favour of the Sharks, with the game evenly balanced to potentially go either way.

Despite Carney playing well in the trial, for Sharks coach Shane Flanagan, he admits that he was not terribly surprised by the performance – rather, that he saw it coming.

“No, not really, I wasn’t real surprised with how well he went,” Flanagan told reporters after the match.

“I wouldn’t have expected him to grab those tries but I’ve seen him obviously at training and he’s been doing a good job, he’s got his head in the right space at the moment and I’ve just got to keep him there.

“He’s a quality player and what I’ve seen at training over the last couple of months, he just showed a little bit of that.

“He’s got real good speed, he controlled the game, turned players under and kept getting to field positions that he wanted to kick from, and then when the opportunity arises he drives the nail in.

“As I’ve said a lot of times, I’m glad we got him.”

For the Sea Eagles however, with their World Club Challenge scheduled for two weeks time, the loss is not what they would have been looking for, as they brace themselves for a tough encounter in England.